Sean and Amanda open the show by talking about their five favorite scenes of the 2023 movie year (1:00), before digging into one of the most exciting directorial debuts of the year: Cord Jefferson’s ‘American Fiction’ (24:00). They talk about the state of family dramas and satires as genres and how ‘American Fiction’ succeeds as a refreshing mix of the two. Then, Sean is joined by Jefferson to talk about the expected and unexpected challenges of directing a film when you have a background as a writer, the movie’s deep and wonderful cast, what kinds of things he’s gravitating toward working on next, and more (38:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Cord Jefferson Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices